Multiple steady rest



Dec. 5, 1939. R. A. COLE MULTIPLE STEADY REST Filed Sept. 16,1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l 0 III. 0 5 1.5 3 5 i 1 I I I III IMIWI I U l I I l I I I l I I I I II 31wwwfm HFIYMUNDFLCEJLE as; rw mvv Dec. 5, 1939. R, COLE 2,182,311

' MULTIPLE STEADY REST Filed Sept. 16, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 RHYMUND Fl. COLE difozwu Patented Dec. 5, 1939 rarest perms MULTIPLE STEADY REST Raymond A. Cole, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Norton Company, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 16, 1938, Serial No. 230,192

4 Claims.

The invention relates to steady rests.

One object of the invention is to provide a steady rest to hold tapered work pieces. Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for grinding tapered spindles and the like. Another object of the invention is to provide a steady rest adjustable in many different ways. Another object of the invention is to provide an accurate steady rest for mounting on a grinding machine to hold irregularly shaped work pieces for grinding and susceptible of quick adjustment. Another object of the invention is to provide a steady rest for the accurate positioning of thin and flexible articles for a grinding or turning operation. Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and practical construction in a steady rest of the class indicated. Another object of the invention is to provide a steady rest for the grinding of spindles which have a surface which is neither cylindrical nor conical, be ing a conical surface modified by slight hollow portions. Other objects will be in part obvious or in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, arrangements of parts, and in the several steps and relation and order of each of said steps to one or more of the others thereof, all as will be illustratively described herein, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings showing one of many possible embodiments of the mechanical features of this invention, 1

Figure l is a plan view of a steady rest constructed in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the steady rest; and

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

As conducive to a clearer understanding of the present invention, it is noted that certain articles such as spindles for spinning frames are-round in cross section throughout the length thereof but 5 consist of a cylindrical portion, a short tapered portion and a long tapered portion, the latter having hollow portions (which are scarcely discernible with the eye), the spindle shape being therefore anticlastic. The steady rest of the present invention is particularly designed for the grinding of. such spinning frame spindles and with the use thereof the spindles can be ground by a double pass of the wheel thereo-ver. Thus the spindles coming from a forging operation and a previous grinding of the cylindrical portion are finished with two passes of the grinding Y Wheel. The steady rest of the invention, however, is useful for the grinding of many other articles, especially those of varying diameter and articles which because of their considerable length as compared with their average diameter are fairly flexible.

Referring to Figures 1 and 3, there is shown a table ID of a grinding machine. The steady rest of the machine is designed for use (among many uses) on a cylindrical grinding machine of a known type having a carriage, not shown, mounted on ways which supports a table It which in turn supports awork piece A. In Figure 1, a head center I l and tail center G2 are fragmentarily shown which support the work piece A for grinding by a grinding wheel l3, also fragmentarily shown. In such well known machines provision is made for adjusting the table it angularly on the underlying carriage and the work piece is rotated froma headstock, not shown, by means of the usuallathe-dog or the like.

Referring particularly to Figure 3, the table It] has the usual lip l5 running the length thereof for attachment of any desired steady rest or steady rests. The apparatus so far discussed is part of a grinding machine proper and is a machine upon which the multiple steady rest of the present invention may be mounted.

On the front of the table i is a pad It held against the table for receiving the thrust of screws to anchor the steady rest or steady rests in position. This pad might be attached to the table, but in the illustrative embodiment of the invention is held in place on the steady rest by screws Hid which permit it to move away from the table [0.

Considering now the steady rest of the present invention and referring to all the drawings, I provide a steady rest base 253 which has plane under-surfaces to rest on the inclined upper plane surfaces of the table It. I provide a long gib M for interlocking engagement with the lip l5. This gib 24 may be secured to the base 2% by means of screws 25. The base 20 has on the front thereof a depending flange 26., I provide a pair of bolts 2'! extending through the flange 2t and abutting the pad !6. By means of these bolts the base 20 can be drawn forwardly, causing a firm engagemerit between the gib 24 and the lip l5, thereby locking the base 28 rigidly to the table it, however permitting easy adjustment of the entire apparatus along the table ill.

The base 20 has further an upwardly extending front portion 39 and a pair of upwardly extended a plurality of steady rest slides 35.

ing side portions 3|. These define an open trapezoidal space on the upper side of the base 20 having a plane surface 32 that is at a slight inoline to the horizontal. In this space are mount- Each steady rest slide 35 rests upon an underlying wedge block 36 by the movement fore and aft of which the steady rest slide 35 may be adjusted in a vertical direction. At the extreme right of all the steady rest slides is a side adjustment plate 31. (This plate 31 could equally well be located at the left of the slides.) On the top of each steady rest slide 35 is a top adjustment plate 30. As shown in Figure 2, the slides 35 are in contact with each other but they are readily adjustable individually.

I provide means for accurately adjusting the underlying wedges 36. This may take the form of draw screws 3! and pressure screws 42. I pro- 20 vide means for taking out the play between the steady rest slides 35 by moving the plate 31. This may take the form of screws 43 with looking nuts 44 to press the plate 3'! against the next slide 35,

thus pressing all the slides together. I provide a 25 top plate 47 for the entire steady rest structure which may be secured in position by means of bolts 48. This will keep grit from the grinding operation out of the parts. I provide means to press the top adjustment plates against the steady 30$ rest slides 35. This may take the form of screws 55 and locking nuts 5!. I provide resilient means to withdraw the steady rest slides when all of the tightening devices are loosened. Thismay take the form of springs 55 located in cut-outs 56 and 35 respectively, provided in the steady rest slides 35 and the wedges 35. I provide powerful means which is also a micrometer feed for moving the steady rest slides forward individually. This may take the form of long pressure screws 60 having knurled heads BI and scale portions 62 for cooperation with a plate with indicating lines 63 held on the front upwardly extending portion 35 by means of screws 64. I provide steady rests If! pivotally mounted at the ends of the steady rest slides 35. Preferably there is a forked portion H and a tongue portion 12, one located on the slide and the other on the steady rest for each unit, and these portions are pivotally held together by a bolt 13 and nut 14. Thus each steady rest may swivel on its slide. Each steady rest it has a steady rest surface which may constitute wear resisting inserts of some hard material, for example of boron carbide, which are located to form a 90? dihedral angle in this illustrative embodiment of the invention, but may form other angles as may be required for particular work pieces or grinding operations,

or each steady rest may have a single insert or shoe or comprise simply a surface or surfaces on the steady rest itself.

This steady rest may be set up as follows: All the adjustment screws and bolts are loosened. (This does not include the screws which are merely means for rigidly attaching the gib 24 25.) The work piece A is located in the grinding machine between the centers II and I2 and the proper adjustment is made of the table l5 on the underlying carriage and otherwise the grinding machine is properly set up. The steady rest mechanism is now placed in position on the table H3 and adjusted longitudinally until the steady rests 75 come opposite the portions of the work piece A to be supported. Of course, it may be it; that the steady rest was already located upon the with a double pass.

-' which might be a piece integral with the base" table l5, in'which case it is merely adjusted longitudinally of the table to the desired position. Now the bolts 21 are tightened and this looks the base 20 rigidly in position.

The left-hand slide 35 is then advanced by turning its screw 60 until its steadyrest 10 contacts a portion a of the work piece which is a true cylinder concentric with the axis of the work piece A, having been finished by a previous grinding operation. If necessary, adjustment is made in .a vertical direction by moving the wedge block 36 and the screws 50.

The other steady rests 10 are now advanced until they all contact the work piece along the surface a which is the surface to be ground to a tapered anticlastic shape. The grinding wheel I3 is now advanced into contact with the work piece A and traversed in contact with the surface a The grinding wheel is now backed off, the tail center I2 is moved, and the work piece is removed and carefully gauged. It will usually be found that the various diameters are not such as are desired and at this point each steady rest slide 35 is advanced by means of its screw iii. 'to reduce the work piece at the Various points tothe desired diameter. For example, if at the position of steady rest No. 3 counting from the left, the work piece is one and a half thousandths oversize, the knurled head 5| should be turned one and a half thousandths on the scale 62.

The work piece is now put back in the machine and the wheel brought into contact therewith and another double pass is made. It is then gauged again and it will usually be found to be approximately correct. A second work piece is now put into the machine and ground by a double pass of the wheel. It is then taken out and gauged and usually will be found to be not quite the desired size and shape because the first work piece was brought more gradually to the correct size and shape. Further adjustments of the several steady rest slides are now made, which will be very slight adjustments. From then on, it is possible to grind a box-full of spindles A, giving each a double pass of the wheel in contact therewith, and they will all be brought to the desired size and shape. In such production grinding, a casual adjustment of one or more of the knurled heads 6i will usually sufiice to take care of the wear of the steady rest shoes 15.

These steady rest shoes l5. may be as aforesaid made of boron carbide or they may be of one of the cemented carbides such as tungsten carbide cemented with cobalt. I have found that by using a multiple adjustable steady rest with hard carbide inserts, production grinding of these spindles is greatly improved.

The amount of stock taken off each work piece is determined by the operator observing the amount of spark when he first brings the grinding wheel into the work piece. It is found that with this type of steady rest and proceeding in the manner indicated, at the end of the grinding operation the spindle will actually be sprung away from the various steady rest shoes 75 at several of them excepting when the grinding wheel is directly in front of them. Thisis contrary to the usual or common procedure but gives excellent results for the production of slightly anticlastic or even convex tapered surfaces in articles of this class. The procedure described sets up an actual spring in the work piece while it is being ground.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by this invention apparatus and a method in which the various objects hereinabove set forth together with many thoroughly practical advantages are successfully achieved. As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative andnot in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A multiple steady rest comprising a plurality of slides, a plurality of steady rests each one swivelled to a slide, means for pressing the slides together horizontally to remove play, means for adjusting the slides vertically, means for pressing the slides vertically to remove play, and means for moving the slides toward and from the Work piece, said last named means constituting screw means accurately adjustable.

2. A steady rest comprising a base, means to attach said base to a grinding machine table, a plurality of wedge blocks resting on said base, a plurality of slides mounted on the wedge blocks, means to press the slides downwardly against the wedge blocks, means to press the slides together horizontally, steady rests swivelled to the slides,

to the long dimension of the grinding machine I table, a plurality of similar wedge blocks mounted on the inclined surface, individual screw devices to move said wedge blocks in a direction normal to the long dimension of the table, a slide mounted on each wedge block, a plate and screw means to press said slides together in the direction of the long dimension of the table to eliminate play, a plate and screw means for each slide to press it downwardly against its supporting wedge block, a screw to move each slide in a direction normal to the long dimension of the table, and a steady rest swivelled to the front of each slide.

4. In apparatus as claimed in claim 3, the combination with the parts and features therein specified, of a spring for each slide to move it against the screw which adjusts it in the direction transverse to the long dimension of the table.

RAYMOND A. COLE. 

